Silent Screams Are the Loudest
by The Lilac Elf of Lothlorien
Summary: While Harry deals with the painful emotional aftermath of the 3rd task of the TriWizard Tournament, his twin sister, Morgan, deals with the physical scars left from a critical illness. Mute!Harry and sick!OFC. AU
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTES: A few weeks ago I started my own bucket list for no other reason than I was watching the movie of the same title and I got to thinking about what I would want to accomplish before I die.

What does this have to do with fan fiction you may ask? Well, on my list is "Finish every one of my fan fiction projects".

This will never happen because I'm creative, ADD, and my brain NEVER SHUTS UP! I've got so many stories that aren't finished, and I'm starting another one!

And as far as my unfinished works, if anyone wants to adopt an unfinished story, just let me know. They're like cats, people. I keep taking them in and I can't stop.

Okay, okay, okay... On to this story. I'm going a different route with the take on the disabledHarry storyline I love writing so much. In this story, Harry's twin sister Morgan has the physical disability and Harry's problems are more to the psychological.

STORY SUMMARY: AU! Harry was kidnapped the night of the 4th task of the TriWizard Tournament and tortured mercilessly by the Death Eaters. At the same time, Harry's twin sister, Morgan, is diagnosed with lung cancer. While Morgan tries to deal with her illness and the devastating toll it takes on her body, she and her older sister, Breanna, try to help Harry heal from his own ordeal. But Breanna knows only too well that the deepest wounds are often the ones you never see. MuteHarry!

* * *

><p>HARRY POTTER: Silent Screams Are the Loudest<p>

* * *

><p>The crowd of people watching the final task of the TriWizard Tournament cheered as Cedric Diggory suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the TriWizard Cup clutched in his hand even as he fell limply to the ground.<p>

But as Dumbledore went down to congratulate Cedric, the headmaster looked worried when he noticed that Cedric wasn't moving. Going to the boy, he knelt down and checked that the young man was still breathing. Thankfully, he was and Dumbledore hastily wrangled two of Cedric's classmates to get him to the hospital wing of Hogwarts.

"Where's Harry?" Someone shouted, sparking several follow-up questions. "Didn't he come back yet?"

Dumbledore quickly got to his feet and raised his wand, before sending a silvery phoenix into the maze to search for the young Gryffindor student. He had a bad feeling that something had happened in the maze but until Cedric regained consciousness, there was no way of knowing for certain what had transpired.

The headmaster looked up as he saw the rest of the Potter Family heading in his direction and he wished he knew what to tell them.

It had been the surprise of a lifetime when James and Lily had survived the attack by Voldemort. And it had been even more surprising that the three Potter children—Breanna, Harry, and Morgan—had survived unscathed as well.

Well, mostly, Dumbledore realized as he looked at Harry's older sister, Breanna.

Breanna had been 3 years old when Voldemort had attacked and ever since that night, she hadn't said a word. The magical healers and muggle doctors had never been able to find anything causing the loss of Breanna's voice, and eventually, James and Lily had been forced to accept that their oldest child might possibly never speak again.

When Breanna (who preferred to be called 'Bree') had turned 5, her muggle schoolteachers had sat down with James and Lily and the group had discussed how to go about Bree's education. At first, the parents had been confused by the subject, but Bree's art teacher had simply explained that since Breanna still remained mute, that she would need to learn other methods of communication.

By the time Breanna was ready to go to Hogwarts, she was exceptionally proficient in sign language and was even starting to get the hang of nonverbal spells—something she'd been trained in very early on. James had hoped that that studying the nonverbal magic would help coax his daughter into finally speaking, but that hadn't been the case.

"Professor, where's Harry?" Lily asked again, pulling Dumbledore from his thoughts.

But Dumbledore didn't reply as his Patronus had returned from searching the maze and the grounds. When the silvery phoenix let out a few sad notes, Dumbledore's heart sank. "Harry is gone from the grounds," he reported to the Potters. "I don't know where he is."

"**What does he mean 'I don't know'?" **Bree signed to her father, looking alarmed. **"Where could Harry have gone?"**

Lily turned to her eldest child and said, "Harry's got to be somewhere. We'll find him."

Next to James, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin also looked alarmed and worried that Harry was missing and at first, no one spoke as the idea of Harry being missing started really sinking in.

* * *

><p>Harry didn't know where he was.<p>

One moment he'd been dueling Voldemort in that graveyard—and somehow destroying him—and the next he'd found himself lying on a cold cement floor in absolute darkness.

The following time—not being able to see he couldn't tell if it was days or hours—was filled with pain as Harry was tortured mercilessly by unknown assailants. They never spoke so Harry had no way of even guessing who might be behind his suffering.

After what felt like weeks, he was finally dragged outside and dumped somewhere near some bushes. But Harry didn't have very long to wonder what had happened to him because suddenly he was hit with wave upon wave of pain. It was worse than the Cruciatus Curse and while the pain was spreading throughout his whole body, it seemed to radiate from his left arm, back, and both legs.

He hoped someone would find him soon or—barring a rescue—that if he did die, that it would be quick.

* * *

><p>The past weeks had been grueling on the Potter Family.<p>

For the first two weeks after Harry's disappearance, every single witch and wizard was looking for Harry and even the foreign magical governments were looking for any sign of the Death Eaters who had been present in the graveyard the night Voldemort was defeated.

Once Cedric had woken up, he'd told Dumbledore and an astonished Cornelius Fudge about Voldemort's rebirth and the fight between Harry Potter and the Dark Lord himself.

After touching the TriWizard Cup—which had been turned into a Portkey—Cedric and Harry had landed in an old graveyard where they had both been promptly restrained before Peter Pettigrew—also known as 'Wormtail'—used some sort of potion to resurrect Voldemort.

When Harry and Voldemort had begun dueling, Cedric used the fact that the other Death Eaters were distracted to his advantage and started making his way towards the portkey. But just as Cedric had reached the thing and wiggled out of the ropes binding him, one of the Death Eaters had hit him with a stunning spell a split second after Cedric touched the portkey.

The last Cedric had seen of Harry, the younger student had still been dodging curses and spells from Voldemort. Cedric also stated that he'd escaped so as to get help but being unconscious, he hadn't been able to dispatch help to Harry sooner, something which caused him an endless amount of guilt.

xx

Another few weeks dragged on and after the rumors that Voldemort was truly gone were confirmed, the search for Harry intensified. Some believed that some of the Death Eaters were hiding the boy and others assumed the worst and thought that Harry must already be dead.

However, Harry's family and friends refused to give up hope and felt certain that soon something would happen and Harry would be found.

But as May gave way to June and July grew closer, the Potters had begun to wonder if their hopes were in vain…

* * *

><p>But Harry's disappearance was only the beginning of the troubles plaguing the Potter family as Harry's twin sister, Morgan, started feeling ill only days after her bother went missing.<p>

It started as simply being short of breath but in a matter of weeks, Morgan's breathing became more and more labored. No matter what she tried, nothing helped. And to make matters worse, she'd started having problems swallowing.

The longer her problems went on, the more Morgan knew that something was wrong but the last thing she wanted to do was add to her parents' problems since they were already frantically worried about finding Harry.

The only good news was that one of the muggle hospitals in the United States had put out a notice that they were looking for the family of a young patient who matched Harry's description. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were already talking to the local wizarding government to get the details and were set to leave for the States the day after tomorrow.

"Morgan?"

Morgan started to turn to look at her mother, but her vision swam and suddenly, Morgan couldn't breathe. It was worse that the other moments of respiratory distress she'd had lately. It was as if her lungs had suddenly stopped working just as her throat closed up. "Mom!" she tried to call out to her mother as she fell to the floor, but the only sound that escaped Morgan was a painful, strangled gasp.

Lily darted towards her daughter and felt panic rising in her chest when she realized that Morgan had stopped breathing.

When James came into the room a split second later, having heard the sound of someone falling to the ground, he stopped dead when he saw that it was his daughter lying on the floor. "What happened?" James exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Lily said in a rushed voice. "She's not breathing!"

"What?" James said, quickly. He bent down and picked Morgan up in his arms and quickly apparated to the nearest hospital—Fairbotham Memorial which catered to muggles as well as witches and wizards. "I need help!" James said, urgently to one of the nurses standing nearby. "My daughter's not breathing!"

Immediately, the nurses got Morgan onto a gurney and whisked her into the emergency room just as Lily arrived. "James," Lily said, going to her husband who quickly pulled her into his arms. "What happened?"

James shook his head, bewildered. "I don't know, Lil. I mean, was she sick?"

Lily shook her head that she didn't know, but as she actually took a moment to think, she realized that she'd been so wrapped up with trying to find Harry she hadn't paid any attention to her daughters. And thinking back on things, she remembered that Morgan had looked peaked the past month and a half.

The Potters went to sit down in the waiting room as they waited for news about Morgan, both parents feeling wave after wave of guilt about not noticing that something was wrong with their younger daughter.

xxx

Surprisingly, it was only about an hour before one of the doctors came out of the ER and headed towards James and Lily.

James stood quickly, Lily next to him holding his hand. "Any news?" James asked, almost dreading the response.

The doctor, Pamela Braeden, looked grave as she studied the parents. "The good news is that we managed to get your daughter breathing again. There was a blockage in her throat so we had to do what's called a tracheotomy. Basically, it means that we cut a small hole in your daughter's throat so that we could insert a tube directly into her windpipe."

Lily looked horrified at what she'd just been told and she squeezed James' hand harder. "So what's causing the blockage?" Lily asked, trying not to think of the worst case scenarios.

Dr. Braeden didn't believe in sugarcoating bad situations and after a moment of thinking how best to explain, she replied, "We took x-rays of your daughter's chest and throat which showed several solid masses. One was pressing against her throat. The other was much larger and was invading her right lung. Your daughter's on her way up to surgery right now. We're going to remove the masses and do a biopsy."

The word 'biopsy' set off alarms in James' head. He remembered the word quite well as he'd heard it right before his father had died of terminal liver cancer. "What kinds of masses?" he asked, dreading the answer.

Lily shot her husband a look of dismay and panic before turning, open-mouthed, to the doctor.

But the doctor was reluctant to say anything definitive, even though she knew the odds of good news were slim to none. "We have to wait for the biopsy results to be certain… But the masses are solid and look deeply ingrained which is usually a sign that they're malignant."

Lily's hands flew to her mouth as she gasped and she wasn't even aware of James putting an arm around her and holding her tightly to him. "What…?" She had so many questions but for the life of her, she couldn't articulate any of them. This was what caused Morgan to stop breathing? How had this happened? Was Morgan going to die? And what would happen after the doctors and healers removed the tumors from Morgan's throat and lung?

James didn't seem to be doing any better and Lily could see the same question in his eyes that were now running through her mind. "So…" James rubbed his face with one hand and took a deep breath before asking, "What's the best case and what's the worst case?"

Dr. Braeden knew that the Potters wanted as much information as possible but at the moment, nothing was definitive. "Without the biopsy results, I can't give you anything concrete," she cautioned. But when she saw that James and Lily just wanted to know something, she sighed. "The tumors are most likely cancerous. But you shouldn't feel too guilty about not noticing. 25% of lung cancer cases present without any major symptoms. Unfortunately, that's also why lung cancer has such a significant mortality rate."

"Okay," James said, quietly. His mouth had gone dry and his brain was going numb. "So after Morgan's surgery… what then?"

But that was the loaded question, Braeden thought, sadly. And there were quite a few factors involved. "It depends first of all, how ingrained the tumors are," she started, finally. "Best case, we remove them and if the biopsy confirms cancer, we start your daughter on chemotherapy and radiation therapy. But the main problem—best _and_ worst case—is the fact that the main mass is interfering with Morgan's lung function."

"What does _that_ mean?" Lily asked, looking even more worried. She felt weak in the knees and she was only dimly aware of sitting back down.

Braeden looked grim as she explained. "Judging from the x-rays, the tumor in your daughter's lower lung was spreading into the muscles which control breathing. Depending on the damage, the surgeons may need to remove part of that muscle."

Lily just took a few deep breaths as she tried to take in everything she'd just been told. Between Harry's kidnapping and Morgan's illness, Lily wasn't sure how much more bad news she could handle.

"But if you remove the muscle," James said, squeezing his wife's hand as she fell silent. "—what about…?"

The doctor went on. "Right now Morgan is on a ventilator." Catching James' confused look, she explained. "It's a machine that's essentially acting as her lungs." After a long pause, Braeden added, "If the tumor has infiltrated Morgan's diaphragm—that's the muscle group that controls her breathing—too much, she'll have to stay on the ventilator indefinitely."

"So…" Lily said, her voice catching in her throat. "So, the… the tracheotomy tube and ventilator would… It'd be permanent?"

Braeden nodded, ruefully. "Unfortunately, yes. But again, that's only the worst case. If the infiltration isn't too severe and the tumors can be removed without further damage to your daughter's lungs and trachea, she will eventually be able to get off the ventilator and we might even be able to remove the trach tube."

James and Lily just sat there for a moment, letting everything sink in as once again, they found their lives being ripped apart.

* * *

><p><em>Pinckney General Hospital<em>

_Pinckney, Michigan_

_36 Hours Later_

_x_

Upon hearing about Morgan's illness, Remus Lupin insisted that Sirius Black—James' and Remus' best friend—stay behind while Remus went to the hospital in the States to check and see if the unknown patient there was indeed Harry.

At the admit desk at the hospital, Remus withdrew his identification as he said, "I called a few days ago regarding the teenage John Doe patient."

"Yes," one of the nurses replied, nodding, quickly. "Let me get Dr. Marla Corman for you."

Remus nodded and stepped back a step or two to wait for the doctor. After about 10 minutes, a tall, yet heavyset, woman came up to him, holding out a hand. "Remus Lupin? I'm Dr. Corman."

"Thanks for seeing me," Remus replied, shaking the woman's hand.

"Well, if you know who our mystery patient is," Corman replied. "—I'll be the one thanking you." She led Remus upstairs and to the Pediatric ICU. Pausing outside one of the rooms, she turned to face her companion as she said, "I have to warn you, the poor boy's in very bad shape. When he was brought in, both his legs were badly crushed. Unfortunately, his right leg was beyond repair and there were several open fractures which were severely infected. We had to amputate the entire limb."

Remus looked shocked at that news. Thinking quickly, he asked, "Did you find an—an odd scar on his forehead? Like a lightning bolt?"

Dr. Corman frowned slightly as she nodded. "Yes, we did. So, this is…?"

"His name is Harry," Remus said, nodding. "Harry Potter. He's my best friend's son."

Corman looked both relieved at finally knowing her young patient's name but also rueful about giving Remus the rest of the report. "Well, as I said, we were able to save Harry's left leg, but how much function he regains isn't clear right now."

"Is that the worst of Harry's injuries?" Remus wanted to know, although he sincerely doubted that it was.

"No… Far from," Corman went on. After a moment, she opened the door to Harry's room and led Remus inside.

Harry's left leg was in a brace and traction rig and he wore a back and neck brace as well. His right arm was in a cast up to his shoulder and suspended in a cradle system and his left arm was missing just below his shoulder. There were bandages across Harry's eyes and the left side of his face. There was also a tube down Harry's throat and he was hooked up to several IVs which were feeding him various medicines and painkillers.

Remus didn't know what to say as he studied Harry's still form.

"We've been keeping Harry sedated," Corman explained as she brushed the teenager's hair out of his face. "The more he can rest, the faster his body will heal."

Remus thought quickly about how he was going to get Harry out of here and to the nearest wizarding hospital. The healers could regrow Harry's arm and leg and repair the other injuries, but because of the fact that Harry had already been treated by the muggle doctors, the healing time could be longer than normal. For some unknown reason, that was usually the case when magic was used on an already healing injury.

After getting the full report on Harry's condition, Remus and Dr. Corman left Harry's room. "How soon will Harry's family be able to get here?" Corman asked, curiously. "I'm sure they're eager to hear about his condition."

"It may be several days," Remus replied, sadly. "Harry's twin sister, Morgan, was just diagnosed with lung cancer. The doctors just removed multiple tumors from her right lung and throat and she'll be recovering for about a week before starting the cancer treatments."

Dr. Corman couldn't help the look of extreme dismay she wore and she immediately wished she had better news for the Potter family. It was bad enough that their daughter was facing a critical—potentially fatal—illness, but their son was severely injured and would have to learn to live with several permanent disabilities. "Well, please let me know as soon as you hear from them," Corman replied. "We hope to get Harry off the sedative in the next week or so and it would be good for him to see his family when he wakes up."

Remus agreed and as he thought of the plan to get Harry back to England, a problem suddenly occurred to him. Namely, was it currently safe to transport Harry to another hospital with his injuries? Voicing the question out loud, he was surprised when the doctor thought a moment instead of saying 'no' outright.

"I wouldn't really recommend it," Corman said, cautiously. "But if that's what you want, it can be arranged."

"Please," Remus replied, nodding.

Dr. Corman didn't like the idea at all. Between Harry's broken bones, the amputated limbs, and the damage to Harry's spinal cord, she had serious misgivings about her patient going anywhere right now. But when Remus Lupin produced the papers from James and Lily Potter giving him temporary control of medical decisions regarding Harry, Corman knew she didn't have a choice. "It'll be a day or two before Harry will be ready for transport," she cautioned.

Remus had expected that and promised to be in touch later that evening about where Harry would need to be transported to. As he headed back to the hotel he was staying at in the local wizarding community, Remus thought about how he was going to tell James and Lily about Harry.


	2. Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Happy New Year to all my readers! I know this chapter is on the shorter side but the next one should be nice and long. (See A/N at the bottom.)

I wish everyone a great 2012, and remember that no matter how much fun you have tonight, drinking and driving is NEVER the way to have a good time.

Chapter 2

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><p><em>Fairbotham Memorial Hospital<em>

Morgan slept for nearly two days straight after the surgery to remove the tumors from her lung and throat.

When she finally woke up, her lower chest ached and her neck hurt with even the slightest movement. Seeing her mother sitting by the bed, Morgan tried to give her a smile, but it ended up more like a wince. She tried to talk but her voice was gone.

"Easy, honey," Lily cautioned. "You're not going to be able to talk for a while."

Morgan gave the slightest nod as her mother adjusted the hospital bed so she was sitting up. Seeing the tube that was protruding from her throat, Morgan raised both hands and signed, **'What's wrong with me?'** It was strange to her to be 'talking' to her mother like this. She could still remember when she was a child and hadn't understood why she and the rest of her family had to learn sign language when Bree was the one who didn't talk. But now it seemed that Morgan would also need to use her hands to communicate is she couldn't speak normally.

Before James and Sirius had left for the States and Harry, James and Lily had talked for several hours about the best way to tell Morgan about what was wrong with her as well as what was going on with Harry. Lily had wanted to put off the discussion at least a day or two so Morgan could at least recover a bit from her surgery before dealing with everything else.

But James had said that Morgan would want to know and was likely to be impatient waiting for answers and after a while, Lily had agreed, promising to tell their daughter when she woke up.

When Morgan repeated the question, looking scared as she saw how quiet her mother was being, Lily slowly sat down on the edge of her daughter's bed and wished she didn't have to give the terrible news to her child. Every instinct within her wanted to shield Morgan the bad news but she also knew that she had to do it. "You have lung cancer," Lily said, finally, her heart breaking at the expression on her little girl's face. "You stopped breathing because of tumors in your lungs and throat. The doctors removed them and the healers did what they could for the damage done, but…"

'**But what?'** Morgan asked. If it weren't for the machines breathing for her, she probably would have stopped breathing for a second time. Cancer… Just saying the word in her head was too much. For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the beeping of the machines and the soft, steady hiss of the ventilator.

When Morgan had come out of surgery and the operating surgeon had come into the waiting room where James and Lily were sitting, Lily listened with heartbreaking disbelief as the doctor reported on the procedure.

The tumor in Morgan's throat had been removed fairly easily but the surgeons had had to cut extremely close to her vocal cords and there was a possibility of permanent voice loss.

While the tumor on her lung had _not_ invaded her diaphragm too badly—the consulting oncologist believed that the chemotherapy and radiation therapy would take care of any lingering cancer cells in that area—Morgan's lungs hadn't fared well at all. The tumor had deeply invaded her right lung and—upon closer inspection—had also spread to her left lung as well. The surgeons had been forced to remove nearly half of Morgan's right lung and the smaller lobe of her left in order to remove as much of the tumor as possible.

As best she could, Lily explained the surgery and resulting complications to her daughter as best she could and tried not to let Morgan see just how crushed she felt about everything.

Morgan looked from her mother to the ventilator that was breathing for her… the machine that was now likely going to be a permanent part of her life. It took a few minutes before she finally asked, **'So what now?'**

"Well," Lily started with a deep sigh. "Next week, the doctors are going to put in a central line to make the chemotherapy treatments easier. Then you'll start the radiation and chemo a few days after that."

Morgan signed that she understood as her mind scrambled for a distraction from her own problems. Remembering that Remus was following up on a lead about her brother, she asked, **'What about Harry? Did you find him? Is he okay? Where is he?'**

Lily's look of relief was fleeting, but she replied, "We found Harry." When Morgan started to run through the questions list again, she quickly went on. "He was in a muggle hospital in Pinckney, Michigan in the US. He was badly hurt, but hopefully he'll be home soon."

'**How bad was Harry hurt?'** Morgan asked, worried. Just the idea that Harry was in a hospital was bad enough but it had been two months since Harry had disappeared. So he had to have been in the hospital for at least half that time. When her mother didn't reply, Morgan asked again. **'Mum, how bad was Harry hurt?'**

* * *

><p><em>Martinelli Wizarding Hospital<em>

_Howell, Michigan_

The sounds of beeping and indistinct voices were what greeted Harry as he emerged from unconsciousness. He blinked, but his world was presently still one of total darkness.

"Harry? Harry, can you hear me?"

His father's voice was muffled at first, but eventually became clear. Harry nodded that he could hear his dad, but didn't make a sound. When he'd first been taken by the Death Eaters, he'd learned quickly that noise—screaming, crying, whimpering—brought on more pain. And the memories of weeks of torture were as sharp and clear as the knife Harry's tormentors had used on him. It didn't matter to Harry that he could hear his father's voice. Instinct told him to keep silent, and he followed it, knowing it was better safe than sorry.

A warm glow slowly started spreading across Harry's face and after a few moments, the darkness gave way to light and a minute or two later, he could see again, although everything was still a bit fuzzy without his glasses. Harry saw that he was in a hospital and two healers stood next to the bed, working on his broken body while his father and godfather stood nearby.

The cast the muggle doctors had put on Harry's arm was still present, as was the brace on his left leg. But the back and neck brace which helping to keep his spine immobilized was gone. And Harry felt his stomach churn viciously when he saw that his left arm and entire right leg were missing.

"Just relax, Harry," James told his son, calmly. "The healers wanted to take care of the broken bones before regrowing your arm and leg."

Harry looked again at his missing limbs and just nodded silently. But when one of the healers put a hand on what remained of his left arm, Harry suddenly flashed back to when one of the Death Eaters had first broken it. He remembered someone grabbing his arm roughly and twisting it hard until the bone broke and his elbow was dislocated.

His arm had just hung limply at his side for weeks and when Harry had finally tried to literally chew the dead part of his arm off—he couldn't remember exactly he'd done that, but he seemed to remember being chained by that arm at some point—the Death Eaters had reacted by breaking his other arm and both his legs. That part hadn't gone quickly, either. The further injuries had been drawn out over time.

James watched Harry recoil from the healer's touch and went to his son's side, calmly putting a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, you're okay. You're safe now. No one's going to hurt you."

But Harry still flinched every time someone touched him and even as his father and Sirius tried to keep him calm, Harry eventually had to be given a dreamless sleep potion when he'd started having a full-blown panic attack after one of the healers had tried to gently restrain him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Harry woke up again two days later, he noticed that he had both arms again and his left leg was much less painful. And while his right leg was still missing, he found that he could move his left foot which was something he'd been unable to do for almost a month and a half.

Taking a deep breath, Harry tried to force his mind to relax but he couldn't stop replaying the past two months in his head. First there had been the torture, made worse by the Death Eaters blinding him before starting in on him.

Then there had been the first time he'd woken up in the muggle hospital. The doctors telling him he'd lost his arm and leg and that the blows to his back had caused permanent nerve damage to his spine, paralyzing him from the stomach down… that his right arm would likely never be the same again and he'd be stuck in a wheelchair the rest of his life, almost completely dependent on others to take care of him.

Looking at his missing leg, Harry found that he didn't care about that. Both his arms seemed to be fine now and if his spine and leg injuries were fixed, he could get around on crutches well enough.

The door to the room opened Harry sat up quickly when Breanna came in, giving her brother a quiet smile. **'Hey, Harry,'** Bree signed as she sat on Harry's bed. **'How are you feeling?'**

Harry thought about the question for a while and eventually signed back, **'Happy to be alive… terrified…'**

Bree just nodded, not even asking what Harry was terrified of. **'Nightmares?'** She asked, knowingly. When Harry nodded silently, she added, **'Flashbacks… panic attacks?'**

Harry just stared for a moment at his sister and he finally asked, **'Bree… what happened that night?'**

Breanna's gaze grew haunted as she thought back to the night Voldemort had attacked her family. Even as she got older, she still couldn't talk about what had happened to her—either verbally or in sign language. It had been something that at 3 years old, she'd never been able to fully understand. Not that she hadn't tried. But all she could remember was Voldemort's face and another man wearing a hooded cloak and a mask touching her naked body. **'I can't tell you, Harry,'** Bree replied. **'I want to. I do, really. I remember bits and pieces, but… I just can't say what happened. It's like my brain just blocked out that part.'**

'**I wish I could block out what happened to me,'** Harry replied with a wistful expression on his face. When Bree reached forward and put her hand on his, Harry was surprised when he didn't flinch. But after a while, he withdrew his hand from his sister's and said, **'After I destroyed Voldemort, one of the Death Eaters hit me with some spell, knocking me unconscious. When I woke up, I couldn't see a thing. I was beaten… they broke both my arms and my legs… they fractured my spine… I was totally blind, but I remember every second of pain and torture I experienced.'**

Breanna leaned forward and hugged her little brother tightly, tears falling down her face when Harry held onto her, shaking as he started sobbing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When James went into Harry's hospital room later that evening, he couldn't help but smile as he saw Breanna asleep in her brother's bed, one arm wrapped around him protectively.

Once Bree had stopped talking, James has been worried about how his oldest daughter would get along with her siblings. But for some strange yet wonderful reason, Breanna's silence just served to bond the three children even more. Morgan and Harry knew they could tell their older sister anything and when the two had nightmares, they would fall back asleep almost instantly as soon as Bree lay down with them.

Watching his son and daughter, James knew it would be a long time before Harry got over what had happened to him the past few months. But hopefully, now that Harry was home and safe with his family, he could start dealing with the nightmares of his ordeal.

As far has Harry's physical recovery, the healers had taken care of almost all of Harry's injuries, but they wanted to make sure his body could fight off any infections that might come back when they regrew his leg.

It had been a shame that only Bree was able to come to Michigan, but since Morgan hadn't yet been able to leave the hospital and Lily wanted to stay with her, Breanna had come over from England to stay with Harry and her father until her brother was fit to go home.

Sitting down in the chair by the bed, James watched his kids for a while longer, before finally closing his eyes and getting some sleep himself.

* * *

><p>AN: Next chapter, the Potter kids are back together and Harry finds out about his twin sister's illness. Meanwhile, an interrogation of the Death Eaters who kidnapped Harry results in startling information about what happened to Breanna the night Voldemort attacked Godric's Hollow. (WARNING: The part about Bree will contain the subject of sexual assault of a young child. It'll be dark, but I'm not going to go into graphic detail.)


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I know this chapter is more on the short side, but I've found that it's the best way to go when the chapter subject is something extremely serious.

So this chapter focuses on Breanna and, as stated at the end of last chapter, contains the subject of sexual assault of a young child. Nothing graphic, but seriously heavy on the emotion.

Chapter 3

* * *

><p><em>Ministry of Magic<em>

_London, England_

_1 week later_

It had taken a while to track down the Death Eaters that had taken Harry Potter from the graveyard, but once the Aurors had done so, they immediately went to work interrogating the perpetrators to try and get the details of the circumstances.

Of course, when threatened with Azkaban, most of the Death Eaters—including Lucius Malfoy—folded fairly quickly, confessing a great deal of secrets about not only the Death Eaters but about the attack on the Potters 13 years ago.

Over the years, Severus Snape had heard rumors about what had happened the night of October 31st, 1981 that had left Breanna Kristine Potter without her voice. The common theory was simply that the poor child had simply been scared into permanent silence.

But as years went by, whispers started spreading that Voldemort hadn't been alone when he'd gone to Godric's Hollow and whoever the second person had been, they had done something horrible to Breanna who had fallen silent as a result.

* * *

><p>As he stood outside Morgan Potter's hospital room, looking inside at the younger Potter daughter and Lily, Snape wished he didn't have to be there. Lily had been dealing with so much already and adding to her problems hardly seemed like something a former friend would do. But Lily deserved to know and Snape knew that he had to be the one to tell her.<p>

"What are you doing here, Severus?" Lily asked as she came out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Snape paused for a moment and then led Lily just out of view of the window. He knew that Morgan—like her brother and older sister—was highly adept at reading lips and didn't want the young girl to find out about her sister second hand. "The Death Eaters who captured your son were questioned and some rather atrocious facts about 13 years ago have come to light."

Lily remembered that night with startling clarity. Voldemort had found her family after they had been betrayed by Peter Pettigrew and Voldemort had sent James crashing into the nearest wall before going after Morgan and Harry in the nursery. Lily had told Breanna to stay in her room, lock the door, and not come out for any reason.

Voldemort had turned his wand on Lily and the twins and after rendering Lily unconscious, Voldemort had tried to kill Harry and Morgan which had backfired.

The next day, as the Potter family regrouped in Sirius Black's small house nearby, they wondered why Breanna hadn't said a word.

Looking at Snape, Lily didn't like the look on his face. It was the look of someone who had found out something heinous. "Severus… what do you know?"

Snape sighed and asked, "When the muggle doctors and healers examined Breanna, did they do a full examination of your daughter?"

Lily didn't know what exactly Snape was asking, but she shrugged. "Well… yes. She had a couple bruises, but…" She thought back, her mind running through dozens of possible situations and noticing how twitchy Snape was being, she felt her heart plummet and her stomach turn over violently. "Did Vol—Did he…?"

"Not Voldemort," Snape corrected, seeing the line of thought in Lily's eyes. "Another Death Eater."

Lily tried to fight the urge to vomit and she pressed a hand to her mouth, closing her eyes as the truth slammed her hard. Lowering her hand slowly, she looked at Snape and said, "A Death Eater attacked—_molested_—my little girl?" Her stomach churned violently and Lily ran for the bathroom, just making it to the nearest toilet before dropping to her knees and throwing up.

God, it made so much sense now. After that night, Bree had seemed to shut down. She wouldn't talk to anyone and for the first few years afterwards, she flinched whenever someone touched her. Breanna had been only three at the time—there was no way she would have been able to fend off her attacker or even comprehend what was happening to her. There had been 8 hours between when Voldemort and his mystery companion had arrived and when Hagrid and Sirius had arrived… Lily suddenly vomited again as she though about what Bree had been through during that time.

When it felt like there was nothing left in her stomach to throw up, Lily spat to get the last bit out of her mouth before slowly getting to her feet and going over to the sink to rinse the taste out. Leaning against the sink, she dropped her head as she started to cry. She felt like the worst mother in the world. How could she have not known about this? More importantly, how could Breanna not have told her?

No, Lily thought, resolutely. None of this was Breanna's fault. She'd been 3 at the time. There had been no way she would have understood. A tentative knock on the bathroom door made her jump and she whirled around to see James coming in. Lily didn't even say a word as she threw herself into her husband's arms, feeling him hold her tight as she continued to cry.

xxxx

When Breanna, James, and Harry got to the hospital where Morgan was, they were surprised to see Severus Snape outside the hospital room.

"Where's Lily?" James asked as Bree and Harry went in to see Morgan who quickly started to talk to her siblings in sign language.

"Bathroom," Snape replied, simply. When he caught James Potter's questioning look, he balked at the idea of telling James about what had happened to Bree. Lily had acted about how Snape had expected, but James was far more hotheaded and would likely to go to the Ministry of Magic to find and personally punish the fiend who had attacked his daughter.

"What are you doing here?" James asked, curiously, as the presence of his old school rival wasn't what he'd expected.

Snape straightened and decided to bite the bullet. "It's about what happened to Breanna when she was a child…"

Breanna and Harry sat on either side of Morgan, neither able to look away from the trach tube in their sister's throat and the ventilator she was hooked up to. **'So… what are the doctors saying?'** Bree signed, looking at the bandage on Morgan's neck.

'**About my lungs or the cancer?'** Morgan asked, before reaching up to touch the central line inserted just below her clavicle. **'My lungs are bad. Because of how much the surgeons took, they don't think I'd be able to breathe well enough off the ventilator. So once I finish with the radiation and chemo, I'll have to be on a portable vent.'**

'**How long are you in treatment for?'** Harry asked, thinking about when school started up again in September.

Morgan was a bit surprised at the fact that her brother was sticking with signing but decided not to push the issue at the moment. She'd wait until the two of them were alone. **'Radiation 5 days a week, chemotherapy for the other two days and that goes for a full 10 weeks. The worst part is I'm stuck in the hospital until it's over.' **

Bree and Harry exchanged the briefest of looks. For the past 13 years, neither Breanna, Harry, nor Morgan had ever had any serious illnesses. The occasional cold or flu, sure, and all three had chicken pox when they were little—but never had any of them been this sick. As they sat in silence, looking at their sister, Harry and Bree couldn't tear their eyes away from the tube coming out of Morgan's throat and leading to the machine that was keeping her alive.

Glancing out the window briefly, Harry suddenly stood up as he saw his father slamming Snape against the window, splintering the glass. Bree was right behind him and she looked worried when she saw the almost homicidal look on their father's face.

Morgan sat bolt upright, her face contorted in pain as her stitches pulled, sharply.

Bree signaled Harry to stay put and she dashed out of the room, staring in disbelief as her father kept Snape pinned against the window, one hand around the Potions Master's throat. She immediately went to James, trying to pull him off of Snape but her father wouldn't budge. Bree stared, wide-eyed, wondering what could have happened that would make her father feel the need to choke the life out of Snape. She had to stop him!

"Stop."

James froze and turned to look at his oldest daughter in stunned disbelief. The word had been the faintest whisper but somehow, it seemed to be the most amazing sound he'd ever heard.

"Dad, stop," Bree spoke again, her voice weak, even though she tried to say the words as loudly as she could.

James looked from his daughter to Snape and back again before letting the other man go and hugging Breanna tightly, crying with tears of joy. But after a while, he pulled away slightly and the look on his face shifted to one of pained anguish as he said, "I am so sorry, Breanna. I didn't know."

'**Know what?'** Bree signed as her throat felt a bit sore from her brief bout of verbal communication. She looked at her father and her mother who had come running over before looking at Snape again. Bree saw the looks on their faces and after thinking for a moment, she felt her stomach turn when she realized that they were talking about 13 years ago. **'What happened?'** She asked, looking from one adult to the other. **'I want to know.'** But when no one responded, she took a deep breath and said aloud, "I need to know."

x

In Morgan's room, Harry and Morgan watched as their parents and Snape spoke to Breanna. Their mother looked like she was going to be sick and she was crying and their dad looked like he wanted to bust heads while Snape looked calm as always, although there was a sadness about him that was astoundingly out of character.

But it was Breanna's face that was most startling. She truly looked like she was going to be sick and she'd gone pale and tears streamed down her face. When James and Lily went to touch her, she withdrew quickly, as though she didn't want to be touched.

A moment later, though, Bree did fall to her knees, throwing up and crying. Lily dropped next to her daughter and the two cried as they held on to one another.

Harry and Morgan didn't have the slightest idea what might have been said since the door was closed but both of them wondered.

* * *

><p>Breanna had needed to get away for a while after hearing what had happened to her that Halloween night so long ago. She headed up the stairs of the hospital and went out to the hospital's rooftop garden, stopping next to a row of beautiful roses and she felt the tears rushing up again. Sinking to the ground, she sat with her back to the roses and brought her legs up to her chest, hugging her knees.<p>

She just wanted all this to go away. She wanted Harry to be the same happy kid he was before the Death Eaters took him… She wanted Morgan to be healthy and whole again, breathing on her own instead of relying on some machine to breathe for her…

And Bree wanted to go back to not knowing what had happened to her because now that she did, memories came flooding back and she remembered that night. She remembered the Death Eater touching her as he pulled her clothes off while quietly hushing her and telling her it was okay—that she didn't need to cry, didn't need to scream…

Hugging herself tighter, she just wanted to make the whole world go away.


	4. Chapter 4

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I just have to say that if it weren't for Google, I couldn't write this medical stuff as well as I do. And I know this chapter focuses on Breanna and Harry but next chapter will be mostly about Morgan.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

For Morgan, it was amazing at how quickly she had grown used to the soft, steady hiss of the ventilator. Even in just the past few weeks the sound had gone from keeping her awake all night to gently lulling her into a surprisingly peaceful slumber.

But that bright side didn't make up for the side effects of the radiation and chemo treatments. The area of Morgan's lower chest and neck where she'd been receiving the radiation therapy had already become red and itchy and nausea was a regular occurrence, although Morgan had been lucky that she hadn't actually thrown up yet. However, she was just starting treatment and it was sure to get worse before it got better.

Hearing someone knock at the doorway of her hospital room, Morgan looked up and saw Breanna standing there. **'Come on in,'** she signed to her older sister, waving her into the room. **'Mum and Dad went to get something to eat in the coffee shop.'**

Bree walked into the room and sat down on her sister's bed and after a while, she asked, **'Did they tell you about what happened? To me when I was little?'** When Morgan nodded, Bree sighed and took a moment before adding, **'I don't know how I'm supposed to live with this.'**

Morgan was quiet for a while and after a few seconds she took her big sister's hand and gave it a squeeze. **'You were 3 years old,'** Morgan reminded Bree. **'It happened and you didn't know what to do back then. Now that you **_**do**_** know you can either hide or you can move on.'**

Bree stared in disbelief. 'Move on'? This wasn't something you could just push to the side. **'I can't just move on! How am I supposed to even do that? I just wish I could go back to not knowing what happened that night.'**

The sisters just sat for a while but finally, Morgan asked, **'Why did you stop talking after that night?'**

Breanna was caught off guard by the question and for the first time she really thought about it. Looking down at her hands, she thought of how for the past 12 years they had been her means of communicating. But why? Because the night her family was attacked, not only had that Death Eater stolen her innocence, but he'd taken her voice as well. **'I don't know,'** she answered. When Morgan looked confused, Bree sighed and tried to think of the best way to explain. **'I just… shut down. I was scared. I didn't understand what had happened to me. I just couldn't articulate what I went through. I couldn't find the words. And I didn't want to talk about it because I didn't want someone finding out. So I guess I just stopped talking all together.'**

Morgan considered that for a while and she shifted her position in bed, wincing as the stitches in her lower chest and neck pulled. Waving off Bree who tried to help, Morgan said, **'I'm worried about Harry. He hasn't talked to me about what the Death Eaters did to him.'** Giving her sister a pointed look, she added, **'Maybe you should talk to him.'**

'**And say what?'** Bree asked, not sure what difference it would make. '**"It'll get better"? You have no idea what it feels like to be physically assaulted or violated!'**

Morgan bristled at that and she angrily signed back, **'I don't understand physical trauma?'** She pointed at her throat and the tube leading to the ventilator. **'I had a bloody hole cut in my throat and a tube inserted so I could breathe! I had surgeons cut out half of one of my lungs and part of another. I will **_**never**_** be able to get off this machine! And to make things even worse, I still have nearly two months of cancer treatments left!'**

Bree stopped at that and she instantly felt the guilt rising up as she looked at her younger sister. She was being so focused on her own problems when her brother and sister were dealing with their own. **'I'm sorry.'** Seeing Morgan still giving her a glare, Bree sighed again. **'I got wrapped up in my own problems and I am really, really sorry. You're right. What happened to me was 14 years ago and it was something I had no control over. I just need to deal with it.'**

'**I'm sorry, too,'** Morgan replied with a sad smile. Running a hand through her frizzy black hair, she added, **'Ever since Mum told me I had cancer I just… I didn't know what to think or say… If I hadn't been on the ventilator I probably would have stopped breathing when she told me the news.'**

It was a question Breanna wanted to know the answer to but at the same time, she was afraid to know. But at the same time the question had been bugging her for the past few weeks—ever since Lily had called from the hospital after Morgan had collapsed. Looking at her sister, Bree asked, **'Did the doctors say how long you've been sick?'**

Morgan looked away, not wanting to meet her sister's eyes. Yes, the oncologist had gone through the timeline of the cancer that had taken over her body. And Morgan had been shocked at what she'd been told. The cancer had started to develop back in January and the tumors had started developing around March. When Bree touched her hand, Morgan hesitated before looking at her sister who again signed the question. **'About 6 months,'** she finally replied before waiting for the inevitable outburst.

'**What?'** Bree asked, shocked by the response.

'**Six months,'** Morgan repeated. **'That's when Dr. Brady figures the cancer started.'**

Breanna was stunned by that but she knew it wasn't the whole story. **'But you were only feeling sick for two months.'** After a few moments to let that news sink in, she let out a deep breath and added, **'You should have said something.'**

'**I know,'** Morgan replied, looking morose. **'But Mum and Dad were already so worried about Harry I just didn't want to add to the drama.'**

* * *

><p>Harry was walking around the rooftop garden when Breanna found him later that afternoon. He looked tired, like he hadn't been sleeping lately and Bree found that that didn't surprise her much. <strong>'Who's with Morgan?'<strong> Harry asked, curiously when he saw his older sister.

'**Mum and Dad are with her,'** Bree replied, although she hesitated before replying. **'Morgan had a radiation treatment this afternoon.'** She didn't say anything else for a while as she thought about her little brother. She was worried about him—Harry was starting to pull away from the rest of the family just like Bree had as she'd started getting older. "We need to talk," she said aloud, even though it hurt her throat to do so. Switching back to signing, she went on. **'You're shutting down, Harry.'** When Harry started to argue, Bree quickly cut him off. **'Don't deny it. I know the signs, remember?' **

'**So what if I am?'** Harry replied, frowning. **'You did it!'**

Bree let out a deep sigh and nodded. **'You're right,'** She admitted. **'I did.'** It was a few moments before she could think of how to explain, but finally she signed, **'It's hard to explain something that you don't understand at the time. I didn't understand that I was molested. I was 3, for God's sake! But you… We know you were tortured, Harry. Everyone knows and understands that. What we don't know… is what you're not telling us.'**

Harry started to head past his sister but she stopped him and wouldn't let him head for the door. For almost 10 minutes, the two siblings just stood there, waiting for the other to stand down. But when Harry saw that Breanna wasn't going to budge, he sighed. He raised his hands to sign but he stopped when he saw the pain in Bree's eyes. Maybe she was remembering the way he used to talk to her when they were kids or perhaps she was thinking of what her life had become by not speaking—being around people who didn't know sign language, isolation even from friends and family.

Sitting down on a wooden crate nearby, Harry sighed again as he said, "They didn't…" Looking up at Bree, he shrugged. "You know."

Bree seemed to relax a touch as she replied, **'I wondered.'**

Harry nodded and shrugged again. He didn't want to talk about what had happened out loud. Signing had become easier because you had to learn to truncate your sentences. But verbal communication was far more detailed. Details Harry didn't want to talk about, but he knew that Bree wouldn't let him leave until he did. "The Death Eaters kept talking about how they were going to kill me," he said, finally. "They weren't going to use magic—said it was too easy. They wanted me to suffer first."

Bree withdrew her wand and conjured another crate and sat down next to her brother. "It's okay," she said, not caring how bad her voice sounded. Harry just nodded as Bree put her hand on his.

Harry kept talking, telling Bree everything he could remember. "I think I blacked out a few times, but the Death Eaters woke me by stabbing me in the legs or arms. It was almost a relief when they hit me in the back, paralyzing me from the stomach down. At least them my legs didn't hurt."

Bree imagined Harry lying on the floor of some dirty basement, arms and legs broken, blind and paralyzed. She leaned towards Harry, pulling him into a hug, tears falling down her cheeks.

As soon as his big sister embraced him, Harry started sobbing as he held onto Bree.

"It's okay," Bree repeated over and over, mouthing the words when her voice finally gave out.


End file.
